Prep Athlete of the Week: Chayse Schierkolk, Kelly Walsh

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (Wyoming News Now) - “Last one, fast one” is a common saying for competitive swimmers, and it happens to apply extremely well to Chayse Schierkolk’s final high school meet.

The sprinter helped Kelly Walsh take home their first team title in school history; she three-peated as the individual champ in the 100 free, repeated for first in the 50 free, and also won the 200 free relay to cap it off. Schierkolk said that going into the final day she had some butterflies, but no matter what she had full belief in her abilities.

”I was pretty confident throughout the entire meet. During finals though, I was a little bit nervous. I mean rightfully so though, you’re going to compete against six other girls who are also chasing first place. So I was definitely nervous, but I knew that as long as I swam and did the best I could, no matter what happened I would’ve been fine,” Schierkolk said.

She certainly did more than fine to help make KW history, as the three event wins at states made it six in total across her career. Schierkolk clocked in at 23.99 in the 50 free, 52.01 in the 100 free and split a 24.33 in the relay to claim each championship. The senior’s performance earned her several honors after the fact as well; Schierkolk was named 4A Swim Athlete of the Year, 4A Athlete of the [state] Meet, and picked up a fourth consecutive All-State nod on top of that.

Soon, she’ll take her talents to Laradise and swim for the Cowgirls after making it official on Early National Signing Day (Nov. 8). Schierkolk said some of the biggest factors in her decision were staying close to home and the ability to major in agriculture education.

”At the end of the day I was like ‘I don’t think I can be that far away from home,’ where I’m still going to continue to raise livestock while I’m in college. So I’m like ‘if I need to come home, I need to be somewhat close.’ I’ve swam in Laramie for swim meets since I was little, so it’s kind of like a second home for me,” Schierkolk said.

Congratulations to Chayse Schierkolk on her signing and a phenomenal year and career for Kelly Walsh.

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